Tunisian tycoon Mehdi Tamarziste suffers $3-million loss in 114 days

Tunisian banker and multimillionaire businessman Mehdi Tamarziste has suffered losses amounting to millions of dollars from his stake in Union for Commerce and Industry (UBCI), a Tunisia-based banking group.

According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, Tamarziste’s shares in UBCI have decreased in value by TND9.4 million ($3.05 million) in 114 days as investors on the local bourse continue to reduce their stake in the Tunisia-based lender.

UBCI is a commercial bank based in Tunis, Tunisia’s largest city and capital. It operates as a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, a French international banking group ranked as the largest bank in Europe and the seventh-largest globally in terms of assets.

Tamarziste, one of UBCI’s board members, maintains a 12.9-percent ownership stake in the bank through his business entity, Tamarziste Group.

The shareholding accounts for a significant 2,589,213 ordinary shares in the Tunis-based lender, making him one of the country’s richest investors.

In recent times, the bank’s shares have decreased from TND24.13 ($7.84) per share on April 19 to TND20.50 ($6.66) at the time of writing this report. The decrease translates to a substantial 15.04-percent loss for the shareholders over the past 114 days.

As a result of the recent slump in the group’s shares on the Tunis Stock Exchange, the market value of Tamarziste’s stake in the banking group has declined from TND62.45 million ($20.32 million) on April 19 to TND53.06 million ($17.26 million) at the time of writing this report

This translates to a financial loss of TND9.4 million ($3.05 million) for the Tunisian businessman in 114 days. Despite the recent slump in the market value of his stake, Mehdi Tamarziste remains one of the country’s richest businessmen.